The Top Entrepreneurs in Money, Marketing, Business and Life

Listen to The Top if you want to hear from the worlds TOP entrepreneurs on how much they sold last month, how they are selling it, and what they are selling - 7 days a week in 20 minute interviews!
The Top is FOR YOU IF you are:
A STUDENT who wants to become the CEO of a $10m company in under 24 months (episode #4)
STUCK in the CORPORATE grind and looking to create a $10k/mo side business so you can quit (episode #7)
An influencer or BLOGGER who wants to make $27k/mo in monthly RECURRING revenue to have the life you want and full CONTROL (episode #1)
The Software as a Service (SaaS) entrepreneur who wants to grow to a $100m+ valuation (episode #14).
Your host, Nathan Latka is a 25 year old software entrepreneur who has driven over $4.5 million in revenue and built a 25 person team as he dropped out of school, raised $2.5million from a Forbes Billionaire, and attracted over 10,000 paying customers from 160+ different countries.
Oprah gets 60 minutes or more to make her guests comfortable to then ask tough questions. Nathan does it all in less than 15 minutes in this daily podcast that's like an audio version of Pat Flynn's monthly income report. Join the Top Tribe at NathanLatka.com/TheTop

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Max Pechersky, co-founder of PromoRepublic. His company focuses on helping marketing freelancers get new ideas and strategies for content marketing. As PromoRepublic continues to grow, the company is stretching its boundaries to provide more products for freelancers. Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Intercom on Product Management What CEO do you follow? — Favorite online tool? — Wunderlist Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — Almost never. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — It’s ok if someone doesn’t like me.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:20 – Nathan introduces Max 02:05 – The co-founder of PromoRepublic 03:00 – He owns thirty percent of the company 03:20 – It’s a software service that helps with content marketing. 03:45 – Solving the frustrations of marketing freelancers 04:10 – The business was founded at the end of 2013 04:45 – First year total revenue – 30000 euro 05:00 – Now he has 10k in recurring revenue 05:50 – Total customers: 600 06:10 – Customer pricing is about $12 per month 07:00 -- $650000 raised 07:30 – It was a grant and a soft loan. 08:00 – Churn monthly is 8% 08:50 – They had to decide which customers to focus on 09:30 – They moved to freelance marketers 09:50 – It’s about $100 in acquisition cost 10:30 – The average person stays for about a year. 11:14 – Additional revenue streams 11:25 – Social media templates 11:40 – Like stock photos for social media posts 12:00 – Max@PromoRepublic.com 13:30 – The Famous Five 3 Key Points: Channel your product toward a specific market. When you start to see success, look for additional revenue streams. Come up with an idea that solves a fundamental problem.

Resources Mentioned: Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Toptal – Great for business people to start building their app Wunderlist – Max’s favorite online tool Intercom on Product Management – Max’s favorite business book Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

Brian Wong, who started his company Kiip after getting laid off. As his company has grown and matured, his cofounders have moved on. But Brian is incredible grateful for his company and believes in sticking to your decisions and putting your whole heart and soul into your business. Now Kiip is on track to make $20 million this year, so he must be doing something right.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Predictably Irrational

What CEO do you follow? — Evan Spiegel

Favorite online tool? — Evernote

Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No.

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Stop taking everything so seriously. Everything is going to work out.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:20 – Nathan introduces Brian

01:50 – Kiip is embedded into apps, and it rewards you for achievements in those apps

02:45 – 50/50 revenue share with brands who provide the rewards

03:20 – The economics of partnering with a brand like Gatorade

04:00 – Customers must claim the award for either company to get money

05:00 – Why they use email to deliver the awards

05:38 – Brian’s journey to where he is now, at age 25

06:00 – He found himself in business development

06:55 – Laid off in 2010

07:00 – He met with a few venture capitalists, and a startup seemed like the right direction

Deepak Goel, the mastermind behind his new company KarmaCircles. Deepak says the company is the next-generation LinkedIn. He believes he has found his calling in life as an entrepreneur in the social networking niche.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Give and Take

What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn

Favorite online tool? — Mint, Appear.in

Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — Absolutely.

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don’t stay in a company for more than two years.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Deepak

01:50 – KarmaCircles is an app that connects entrepreneurs with successful business people

02:55 – Pilots with business schools and corporate companies

03:15 – No money the first year

03:30 – What companies are similar to KarmaCircles

04:20 – A LinkedIn of the future

05:00 – All free pilots right now

05:45 – Why they are not charging for the app now

06:40 – Will the customers pay when they make that shift?

07:10 – If customers like the product, they will stay

07:40 – Target annual contract value size

07:55 – 500 users per month for business schools

08:45 – It can be used by any company that does networking

09:00 – Much larger contracts for corporate companies

10:10 – Capital from six angel investors

10:40 – 6 people on their team

10:50 – They pay $3000/month for six engineers

11:40 – Differences between them and the company Clarity

12:00 – Social networking is Deepak’s “life calling”

13:00 – Karmacircles.com/Deepak

15:00 – Giving of yourself for free will circle back to you

15:45 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Find the industry that you were made for.

If you give to others freely, you will see karma come back around to you.

Believe in your business and set high expectations.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Massimo Chieruzzi, CEO of AdEspresso. His company, founded in 2013, is now so profitable that he says they don’t need fundraising! Massimo sees only growth for AdEspresso in the future as Facebook ads continue to evolve and improve.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Predictably Irrational

What CEO do you follow? — Rand Fishkin

Favorite online tool? — HubSpot

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don’t start a startup. Get some experience for a corporate business first.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Massimo

01:30 – AdEspresso was first on The Top on Episode 70

01:50 – Focus on growing and reducing churn

02:25 – Revenue is about $400k/month

02:38 – 2015 total revenue was $3M

02:50 – Fundraising has reached $1.8 Million

03:30 – “We have been profitable this last year, so we don’t need the money.”

04:00 – More than 4000 customers

04:45 – Learn about AdEspresso at Adespresso.com

05:00 – Churn is 7% and is decreasing

06:00 – How long their customers stay

07:10 – 35 people on their team

07:20 – Monthly expenses are around $280k

07:45 – They are growing by at least 15% every month

08:00 – How the company is sustainable

08:30 – Customer acquisition is less than $10

08:45 – Paid acquisition is only content promotion

09:20 – They were founded in 2013

09:30 – What would Massimo sell his company for?

10:20 – @MassimoCw on Twitter or massimo@adespresso.com

12:10 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Allow yourself to gain knowledge from different experiences.

Find ways to lower your acquisition costs.

Get into an industry that has a long life ahead of it.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Massimo Chieruzzi, CEO of AdEspresso. His company, founded in 2013, is now so profitable that he says they don’t need fundraising! Massimo sees only growth for AdEspresso in the future as Facebook ads continue to evolve and improve.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Predictably Irrational

What CEO do you follow? — Rand Fishkin

Favorite online tool? — HubSpot

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don’t start a startup. Get some experience for a corporate business first.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Massimo

01:30 – AdEspresso was first on The Top on Episode 70

01:50 – Focus on growing and reducing churn

02:25 – Revenue is about $400k/month

02:38 – 2015 total revenue was $3M

02:50 – Fundraising has reached $1.8 Million

03:30 – “We have been profitable this last year, so we don’t need the money.”

04:00 – More than 4000 customers

04:45 – Learn about AdEspresso at Adespresso.com

05:00 – Churn is 7% and is decreasing

06:00 – How long their customers stay

07:10 – 35 people on their team

07:20 – Monthly expenses are around $280k

07:45 – They are growing by at least 15% every month

08:00 – How the company is sustainable

08:30 – Customer acquisition is less than $10

08:45 – Paid acquisition is only content promotion

09:20 – They were founded in 2013

09:30 – What would Massimo sell his company for?

10:20 – @MassimoCw on Twitter or massimo@adespresso.com

12:10 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Allow yourself to gain knowledge from different experiences.

Find ways to lower your acquisition costs.

Get into an industry that has a long life ahead of it.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Adam Tishman, cofounder of Helix Sleep. His company gives every customer a custom-made mattress that is even more affordable then retail brands. With several options, customers can come up with hundreds of different combinations to build their perfect, individualized mattress. Learn about Helix Sleep’s goals to continue expanding and to provide the best customer experience.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Made to Stick

What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Gross

Favorite online tool? — Moat.com

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—About 7.

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Learn about customer lifetime value and customer acquisition. Take risks earlier.

Michael Hollauf, cofounder and CEO of MeisterLabs. The company works to provide resources to collaborate across digital platforms. Now they are introducing a new service, MeisterTask, which focuses on better task management and a fun user experience. Hear about how MeisterLabs has hit the ground running and is continuing to introduce new tools to help businesses and entrepreneurs succeed.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Rich Dad Poor Dad

What CEO do you follow? — Stewart Butterfield

Favorite online tool? — Slack

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Buy a flat in London. Be bold. Do it earlier.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Michael

01:35 – Managing director of MeisterLabs

02:20 – MeisterTask

03:10 – Trello was their inspiration

03:40 – Better task management

04:00 – Something more fun to use and focused on tasks

04:15 – 550000 users

05:10 – 60% of the downloads are through the app store

05:30 – Some features only available in the premium model

06:00 – 5000 paying customers

06:50 – Why people upgrade

07:00 – Better integration

07:20 – Funding

08:00 – MeisterTask revenue for 2015 was $20k

08:20 – MindMeister was $2.5 M

08:35 – Monthly recurring was $220k

09:00 – 5 million users

09:15 – 30000 paying customers

Collaboration for mind maps

10:10 – Cost to acquire a new customer is about $30

10:30 – 27% annual churn

11:50 – Average customer stays for about 20 months

12:05 – Monthly plan was changed to a longer plan, which increased retention

12:30 – How MindMeister is growing

12:40 – about $25k/month on Google Ads

13:00 – best keyword is “mind mapping”

13:30 – Competitors

14:00 – Goal for the business is to create a suite of products

14:50 – MeisterTask valuation

16:00 – Michael Hollauf on LinkedIn

16:22 – michael@meisterlabs.com

28:35 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Don’t be afraid to draw from ideas of existing companies.

Establish your end goal for your business.

Be bold. Start your business early.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Jon Lee, CEO of ProsperWorks. Jon has jumped to many different industries, from gaming to tech to banking. As an entrepreneur with success in multiple companies, he believes in going after your business goals as soon as possible. Listen to his journey through his businesses and how he ended up with ProsperWorks.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Crossing the Chasm

What CEO do you follow? — Marc Benioff

Favorite online tool? — Google Apps

Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No.

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Start your companies earlier.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Jon Lee

02:10 – “Banking to tech to Yahoo to gaming”

02:40 – He saw a need for advertisers when he worked for Yahoo

03:10 – Bizarre Advertising

03:25 – They automated the business

04:10 – How they got revenue

04:35 – Started in their apartment in Palo Alto

04:50 -- $47-million business in two years

05:10 – Applied algorithms to find success

05:35 – Bound to confidentiality on the exit value

06:00 – Balance between cost and revenue

06:40 – How he got into the gaming industry

06:45 – Background in mathematics

07:00 – DNA games

07:15 – They could provide different gaming experiences according to the customer

08:00 – Stickiness is measured according to a customer’s engagement

08:20 – Lifetime value helped companies build better games and make more money

09:10 – They sold when Facebook changed their gaming policies

09:50 – They partnered with a larger company

10:10 – ChefVille

10:40 – A good exit for the investors and the company

11:00 – ProsperWorks

12:00 – CRM

12:10 – Partnering with Google Apps

12:30 – Problems with bad data

13:00 – Automating the data entry

13:30 – They have raised of $10 million

14:20 – Founded in 2011

14:30 – A SaaS platform

14:40 – 40000 customers

14:55 -- The Famous Five

15:00 – Profitable sales and marketing

15:15 – Free two-week trial

15:45 – You want a profitable acquisition

16:00 – Focus on building great partnerships and relationships

16:35 – For every $1 spent, they get a $6 return

17:10 – A less mature product needs funding to get customer feedback

17:35 – Team of 67

17:50 – Diminishing marginal returns

18:15 – Invest and get the right type of customer

18:30 – Building up the sales team

19:15 – Average customer pays $49

19:50 – Majority of their contracts are annual

20:30 – Focus to build a useful product

21:00 – Attracting small and medium-sized businesses

21:30 – Revenue churn is negative

23:00 – Jon Lee on LinkedIn or Twitter @prosperworks

3 Key Points:

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, pursue your ideas immediately.

Be realistic about what is best for your company.

Partner with big companies to gain credibility.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Kevin Davis, who came up with a creative solution for tech support. After waiting weeks to get his computer back from the Geek Squad, he thought there had to be a quicker, better solution. He created Geekatoo as a platform for people to find tech experts in their own neighborhoods.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Jason Calacanis’s Podcast

What CEO do you follow? — Not really, I look at other marketplaces.

Favorite online tool? — Base

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Make sure that you get your startup out as soon as possible.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:25 – Nathan introduces Kevin

01:50 – Musician, tech guy, and geek

02:10 – Geekatoo, “like an Uber for tech support”

03:00 – They started out aiming for a nationwide company

04:10 – A platform

04:50 – Founded in 2010

04:55 – First-year revenue was literally nothing

05:30 – It took over a year to get the product out

06:20 – He supported himself by living back home

07:00 – Now it is much quicker to bootstrap a launch

07:45 – They take a percentage for every job that comes through

08:00 – Switched to solving larger-level problems

08:50 – Three different plans and other services

09:30 – Customers are covered for the long term

10:00 – Onboarding takes people from one service to a monthly plan

10:30 – Total customers is 40000

10:50 -- $2.7 M in capital

11:10 – 2015 revenue was almost $4 M

11:25 – Biggest costs

11:50 – Provider payout and overseas center

12:25 – Ad words

13:20 – A focus on positive economics

14:15 – Average project value is about $130

14:40 – Acquisition cost is $20 to $30

15:15 – A large volume of customers had $0 acquisition cost

16:00 – Reasoning behind the merger with HelloTech

17:35 – “A bigger pie”

18:00 – New partners coming forward

18:35 – kevin@hellotech.com or @geekatoo on Twitter

21:15 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Don’t worry about perfecting your business—get it out there as quickly as possible

Do what is best to help your business grow.

Find a simple way to communicate with your customers.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Hamza Amir, who is the CEO of Blurbiz. As a marketing guru working for household names like Disney and Coca-Cola, Hamza saw a problem in the industry with mobile videos. He kept hearing the same complaints, but no one was doing anything about it. Hamza came up with the solution when he created Blurbiz.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Zero to One

What CEO do you follow? — Mark Suster: msuster on Snapchat

Favorite online tool? — Scoutapp

Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No.

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Move to Silicon Valley faster.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Hamza

01:40 – He is not the guy behind the Chewbacca mask

02:00 – Blurbiz assists with mobile ad videos

03:00 – Up to $5000/month per account

03:20 – 20 customers right now

03:40 – He used to do influencer marketing work

04:05 – He saw a gap in mobile content

04:35 – Blurbiz was the solution to that gap

04:40 – Expected to raise $2 M by the end of the month

05:05 – They are working out terms with a new investor

05:20 – Angel funding

07:00 – His advice for entrepreneurs about investing

07:20 – Competitors

08:00 – “Fundraising is more of an art than a science.”

09:05 – How to use the service

09:20 – Create and publish a video from your mobile device

09:50 – Creating a Snapchat through Blurbiz

10:50 – Allowing companies to use different platforms

12:20 – Funds go to the business first. Anything left over goes to salaries.

13:00 – Salary was $2500 last month

13:20 – Twitter: @hamza3amir and Snapchat: hamza3amir

16:00 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

If there is a persistent problem in an industry, come up with a solution.

Understand the best types of fundraising for your new business.

Make a business that stems from your expertise.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Danavir Sarria. After working as a freelance copywriter, Danavir wanted to stop working with clients and start working for himself. He created CopyMonk, a service that teaches people how to increase sales by producing effective copy. At only 22 years old, Danavir is making a place for himself as an expert copywriter.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Rework

What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuck

Favorite online tool? — MindMeister

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes.

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Focus on your efforts, and not on your passion.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:25 – Nathan introduces Danavir

01:40 – CopyMonk

02:15 – Total revenue is $6k in two months

02:30 – How he became a copywriting expert

03:00 – 1700 people on his email list

03:40 – 40 sales over four days

04:20 – How to manage his email list

04:45 – Teach people and build a relationship

06:00 – How you know if someone is a good copywriter

06:30 – Sales and good engagement

07:00 – Knows copy and marketing

08:00 – Connecting with people who read your content

08:15 – Freelance copywriting

09:30 – Working with clients makes it hard to see results

10:20 – How he improved one business

11:30 – Client work vs. working for himself

12:25 – Copymonk.com or their Facebook page

14:25 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Focus on your efforts and your expertise.

If you don’t like working under someone else, start your own business.

When you write copy, find ways to connect to your audience.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Joe Hyrkin, CEO of Issuu. Joe enjoys working in the publishing industry because it is driven by passion. It is a collective space for people who are moved about something to experience that thing together. Listen as Joe talks about Issuu, which has brought the publishing industry into a modern, digital context.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – The Hard Thing about Hard Things

What CEO do you follow? — Mark Zuckerberg

Favorite online tool? — Slack

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Not now.

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Put in effort to make an impact. Have a broader learning perspective. Care and effort matter over anything else.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Joe

01:40 – Issuu is a modern media company

02:20 – Tools for publishers

02:45 – Access to premium tools brings in revenue

03:05 – Revenue from Issuu itself

03:40 – Started in Copenhagen

03:55 – A more current platform of digital media

04:15 – He was not part of the original founding team

04:50 – A focus on giving great content to people who are passionate about it

05:20 – It grew through word of mouth and digital marketing

05:30 – Over 3 million publishers have used Issuu

06:20 – Almost 100,000 publishers had paid for the service

06:40 – Primarily recurring revenue payment

07:30 – 90% of revenue is recurring revenue

08:15 – The new subscription plan

08:45 – Most pay $35/month

09:30 – Publishers come and go

10:00 – Customer churn is 2%/month

10:30 – Focus is to help the customers

10:50 – The new plan helps with collaborative efforts

12:00 – Center of the business is in the west coast

12:40 – Raised $21 million

13:30 – His focus is to create products that have an impact

14:40 – Team of 60 people

15:20 – Acquisition costs

15:30 – Not much is spent on marketing

15:50 – They are found through search engines and word of mouth

16:10 – “We’re clearly the leader in the space.”

16:40 – About $40/customer

17:30 – Customers see the value

18:00 – Why publishing?

18:20 – “It’s about what moves people in their lives.”

18:50 – Example of Malala’s birthday celebration

19:35 – Getting publishers into podcasting

20:00 -- @yankeejoe or jhy@issue.com

22:00 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Get into an industry that you are passionate about.

Take an ancient product or service and update it for today’s world.

Focus on doing what’s best for your customers.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Julie Fredrickson from Stowaway Cosmetics. Have you ever felt like your purse was so heavy it could take someone out with one swing? Every lip gloss, concealer, and eyeliner really adds up! Julie has a found a solution to this problem with Stowaway Cosmetics, which focuses on creating a more mobile product for women on the go. Listen as she tells us how she has transformed the beauty industry with products that actually get used.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Five Dysfunctions of a Team

What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuck

Favorite online tool? — Google Apps

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Religiously.

If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don’t be a jerk. Being kind costs you nothing.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Julie

01:30 – Stowaway Cosmetics is about mobile products that women can use anywhere

02:10 – Launched 18 months ago

02:25 – Learning to run an effective ecommerce business

02:35 -- $1.5 M in capital

02:45 – Equity

03:15 – Valuation is private at an early stage

03:45 – A good valuation is a balance

05:15 – Gary Vaynerchuck

05:40 – The beauty industry has been giving out products that people don’t finish

06:50 – Brands need to see more repeat purchasing

07:25 – Margins for a palette of eyeshadow

08:10 – Effective and a better value than their competitors

08:30 – Direct consumers

08:45 – A normal margin is about 50% through retailers

09:20 – Their margin is about 85%

09:45 – Monopolies in the makeup industry

10:15 – “You should have a choice as a consumer to carry a product that fits your lifestyle.”

11:00 – Weighing down your purse with cosmetics

11:35 – Launched in Feb 2015

12:00 – Fundraising started in early 2014

12:15 – Valuation was based on pre-sales

13:25 – Influence in the marketplace

14:05 – Passed $100k in lipsticks sold

14:20 – Their focus changed to repeat purchasing and having a comfortable growing rate

15:20 – Now they spend nothing on marketing

16:25 – They care more about repeat customers than getting more customers

17:30 – On average, women come back to purchase again in 90 days

18:20 – 40% have made at least 3 purchases

19:00 – minimalists vs. maximalists

19:30 – Follow at Julie at @stowaway on Twitter and on Anchor

21:55 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Find a problem and do the research to come up with a good solution.

Look at a particular industry and evaluate where its setbacks are.

Develop a relationship with your customers.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.

Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.

Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+

Phil Alexander, founder and CEO of ConceptDrop. His company has a mission to get your projects done while you’re sleeping. You can send your project to ConceptDrop and expect to see the end result within mere hours. Listen as Phil tells us about the incredible growth of his business and what he sees for ConceptDrop in the future.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – The Wall Street Journal What CEO do you follow? — Sundar Pichai Favorite online tool? — Hubspot Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — You’re not going to learn everything in business school. Start selling as soon as you can.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:05 – Nathan introduces Phil 01:40 – ConceptDrop 02:05 – Servicing over 300 brands 02:25 – A global network of sellers 02:58 – About 30% taken from the sellers 03:25 – They set the prices 03:48 – Upselling to the buyers 04:10 – The average buyer 04:25 – Started in 2012 04:50 – First-year revenue was a couple thousand 05:10 – Funds raised 06:00 – Valuation was between $5 to $7 million 06:20 – Reasons for the valuation come down mostly to growth rate 07:15 – Investors 07:30 – 300 buyers, and under 100 sellers 08:00 – Average seller makes $500 per project, with 4 to 5 projects each month 08:55 – Seeing great growth 09:40 -- $10,000/month to much higher 10:35 – Repurchase rates 11:24 – Total revenue for 2015 was just under $300k 11:55 – Last month, 50 companies used the platform 12:45 – Small, high-quality pool of freelancers 13:10 – A lot of potential in the near future 14:20 – phil@conceptdrop.com, @philalexander1 on Twitter 16:30 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points: There is no perfect formula for starting a business. High-quality service is a great way to make your business stand out. Assess your business for its potential.

Resources Mentioned: Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Hubspot – Phil’s favorite online tool for marketing and sales Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

Yahya Mokhtarzada, co-founder of Truebill. Truebill is a free online tool designed to keep track of all of your monthly subscriptions and find ways to save you money. With so many products requiring a subscription fee, Truebill keeps your bills more organized and paid on time.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Onward What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Bezos Favorite online tool? — Ahrefs Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No chance. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Take bigger risks.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:10 – Nathan introduces Yahya 1:30 – Truebill keeps track of recurring bills and subscriptions 2:00 – Free for users 2:20 – Looking at transactions and making recommendations 2:50 – Business development deals 3:20 – Launched in January 2016 03:40 – Healthy growth each month 04:00 – Up to $50k/month at the end of the year 04:20 – Saving other people money 04:45 –$1.75 million in capital 05:15 – Agreement for future equity 06:20 – User data 06:40 – Deals with businesses for advertising 07:50 – Introducing users to the products of those businesses 09:00 – Total users signed up are 50000 09:25 – Activation metrics 09:50 – Different options to explore for the future 10:30 – “the low-hanging fruit” 11:10 – blog.truebill.com 13:10 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points: Consider taking bigger risks when you can afford to do so. Focus your business model on helping other people. Start with “the low-hanging fruit” to get your business going.

Resources Mentioned: Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Ahrefs – Yahya’s favorite online tool for assistance with SEO. Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

Raj Bhaskar, CEO and cofounder of Hurdlr. Hurdlr is an online tool that helps freelancers and entrepreneurs track their income and taxes. It helps people save money by calculating deductions within seconds. Nathan and Raj will discuss the beginning of Hurdlr and where they are headed in the future. Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – The One Thing What CEO do you follow? — Gary Keller Favorite online tool? — Google Drive, Freshbooks Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don’t be so serious.

Cory Gregory, a fourth-generation coalminer who has made it to the top in the fitness industry. Cory has now developed his personal brand on his website where people can pay $8.99 per month to get his top workout plans and his daily articles and videos on how to get into incredible shape.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Rich Dad Poor Dad What CEO do you follow? — Bill Phillips Favorite online tool? — Quickbooks Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Have a strong strategy early.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:03 – Nathan introduces Cory 01:30 – Most money is in selling memberships and books on his internet business 02:00 -- $8.99/month membership 02:15 – Products in 100 countries 02:30 – Cofounder of MusclePharm 02:55 – Now a public company 03:15 – “A lot of Wall Street and a lot of boardrooms just really wasn’t for me.” 03:40 – Now owns 3% 04:00 – Went public in 2010 04:30 -- $40 million raised in capital 05:35 – “I learned a ton…. It changed my life forever.” 05:50 – He left the business about 9 months ago. 06:20 – “That thing’s bleeding cash.” 06:35 – Cory was in the programming and products side 06:50 – Proper management was a downfall 07:20 – “It was a rise to the top.” 07:40 -- $160 million in revenue 08:00 – Marketing was huge 08:40 -- Creating a personal brand 09:00 – “I feel blessed.” 09:20 – First gym started for $5000 09:30 -- The Old School Gym 09:40 -- $100k in memberships 10:00 – Biggest expenses 10:40 – six-figures in profit 11:20 – Revenue is more than $100k 11:40 – MusclePharm started at 30 years old 11:55 – corygfitness.com 12:05 – five 4-week plans every month 12:30 – Articles and videos every day 13:00 – Thousands of people use his monthly plan 13:20 – The reason for his vagueness 14:10 – Total revenue was $34k in his first month for his personal brand 15:20 – “There is nobody on the planet who can say they have done what I’ve done.” 16:20 – corygfitness.com, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram 16:40 – Business and Biceps podcast 19:00 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points: Don’t be confined to the environment you were raised in. Develop your personal brand. Find ways to make your service stand out.

Vincenzo Ruggiero, founder of Prospect.io. Vincenzo has a wife and two children, with one born just days ago. With the chaos of a new baby, Vincenzo has still found a way to support himself and his family and manage a new and growing business.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Getting Real, Rework What CEO do you follow? — Joel Gascoigne Favorite online tool? — Freshbooks, Slack, Trello, Appear Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Be humble.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:15 – Nathan introduces Vincenzo 01:40 – Prospect.io is a sales software 02:00 – Recurring revenue from monthly plans 02:20 – Launched in January 2016 02:40 – June revenue was $17k 03:15 – Customer pays more the more they use it 04:10 – Average is $45/month 04:30 – How they have driven customers 04:50 – word of mouth 05:50 – Different types of customers 06:20 – Self-funded 06:45 – Team of 3 07:30 – The system in Belgium makes Vincenzo the sole founder 08:00 – Vincenzo started with other web businesses before he started Prospect.io 09:10 – His family (two kids) 09:35 – How he supports himself 09:45 – He lives off of savings and a very low salary 11:10 – The company breaks even 11:30 – Growth each month 11:50 – How they got such fast growth 13:15 – Customer churn is 6% monthly 14:25 – Customer acquisition cost is $50 15:00 – Lifetime value is $570 15:30 -- @VincenzoR on Twitter 17:35 -- The Famous Five 3 Key Points: Plan out financially how you be able to afford to start a new business. Don’t let your arrogance get in the way of your success. A success work life does not have to take away from a success home life. Resources Mentioned: Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Slack, Trello, and Appear – Online tools that Vincenzo uses for his business

Andrew Kemendo, founder of Pair. Andrew was in Guam as an Airforce Intelligence Officer when he came up with an augmented reality idea to try out furniture and materials without having to buy or ship anything. The Airforce needed to build new facilities, and Andrew thought his idea would save a lot of money and headache. Now his company Pair is used by several large manufacturers to help people find the right furniture for their homes.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Crossing the Chasm What CEO do you follow? — Justin Kan Favorite online tool? — Slack Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Never. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Keep learning about paradigm shifting technologies.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:13 – Nathan introduces Andrew 01:40 – Pair is a tool to try out home furnishings before you buy them 02:30 – Free for consumers 02:45 – Andrew’s experience in Guam and how he came up with Pair 03:45 – They started working with architects 04:10 – Launched fulltime in 2015 05:00 – Funding over $900k 05:20 – First-year revenue was $10000/month 06:20 – Pilots in big cities 06:30 – Monthy and up-front fees 07:15 – Revenue in 2016 07:50 – 15 manufacturers and over 2000 products 08:30 – Transition for the company 09:10 – Architects to home furnishers 10:20 – Larger adjustable market 10:40 – Projection for $1.5M 11:20 -- 20000 products placed each month by app users 12:15 – CPC and CPM 12:55 – Ability to scale 13:25 – Pair on Twitter and Facebook 13:45 -- @andrewkemendo on Twitter and andrewkdot on Snapchat 15:45 -- The Famous Five 3 Key Points: Embrace new technology to create a solution to a problem. Don’t be afraid to change your business model to help your business grow. Adjust your product to benefit a larger group of consumers.

Resources Mentioned: Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Slack – The online tool Andrew uses to stay organized at Pair

Timur Daudpota, cofounder of Blurbiz. His business allows companies to create and edit videos and post them directly to Snapchat. Listen to Timur share his journey as an entrepreneur. He started out with skateboards, and now he’s jumped to Snapchat.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Zero to One What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk Favorite online tool? — Sketch Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Read more books.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:10 – Nathan introduces Timur 02:00 – Blurbiz is a SaaS platform 03:00 – They found a gap in Snapchat 03:35 – Customers can link their Snapchat account and post videos through Blurbiz 04:20 – Working with publishers 04:40 – They charge $2k to $5k per month 05:00 -- $60k in revenue last month 05:15 – Too early for churn 05:45 – Customer acquisition 06:20 – They pay themselves a $60k salary 06:35 – Fundraising is $425k total 07:15 – Valuation 08:20 – Team size is 8 08:30 – Commission based 09:45 – Based out of Mountain View 10:00 – Started with a skateboarding company 10:40 – Bringing back a classic skateboard design 11:00 – LED skateboard wheels 11:30 – Received prize money for their company 12:00 – Finding a better way to sell 12:20 – They connected their product with social media and sales jumped 13:00 – Equity for Blurbiz 13:45 – Follow Blurbiz on Snapchat 14:00 – 20000 views for every post on Snapchat 16:40 -- The Famous Five 3 Key Points: Constantly find ways to improve your business. If you find a gap in a certain company or industry, fill it. Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur.